Dr. Avneet Kaur is currently working as Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, University Institute of Sciences (UIS)-University Centre for Research and Development (UCRD) Chandigarh University, Mohali, Punjab, India. During her Ph.D. tenure she has published 5 research papers in journals of high repute. Her research interest in Ph.D. was primarily focused on two different areas. Firstly, the thermophysical and theoretical investigation of binary mixtures of Choline based Ionic Liquids with Hydrogen Bond Donor solvents i.e. water, straight chain alcohols and alkane diols which has the efficacy to be used at industrial level. Second is the fabrication of choline based ionic liquid assisted nano structures for electrochemical sensing of pollutants which ultimately projects them as smart design for various engineering and industrial processes. Having authored more than 35 research papers/book chapters with publishers of International repute, Dr. Kaur has demonstrated her expertise by publishing two edited book 1) Nanotechnology in the Food Industry: Applications, Recent Trends, and Future Perspectives 2) Edible Insects: Handling Methods, Nutritional Value, and Commercial Uses with CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group. Over the past three years, Dr. Kaur has been actively engaged in the field of food chemistry. In 2023, she was honored with the Best Poster Award at a national conference in recognition of her research excellence. She is a life member of the Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) and is currently serving as a Guest Editor for a special issue on Pigmented Cereals in the Journal of Food Measurement and Characterization, a prestigious Springer Journal. Dr. Kaur is an active reviewer of various Journals of International repute.Dr. Sukhvinder Singh Purewal is currently serving as an Assistant Professor at the University Centre for Research and Development (UCRD), Chandigarh University, Mohali, Punjab, India. He was awarded a Major Research Project (2018–2022) by the SEED Division, Department of Science and Technology (DST), New Delhi. His research interests include solid-state fermentation, extraction of bioactive compounds from natural sources, antioxidant research, and fruit processing. He has authored over 50 research papers in peer-reviewed international journals and has received multiple best poster awards at both national and international conferences. He is an active member of several professional organizations such as the Association of Microbiologists of India (AMI), Mycological Society of India (MSI), Association of Food Scientists and Technologists (India) (AFSTI), and the Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA). In 2023, Dr. Purewal was honored with the prestigious "Young Scientist Award" by the renowned Association of Microbiologists of India (AMI) in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of Food Microbiology. Furthermore, Dr. Sukhvinder Singh Purewal has demonstrated his expertise by publishing an authored book, Millets: Properties, Processing, and Health Benefits, along with Ten edited books with CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group and Springer such as: 1) Maize Nutritional Composition, Processing, and Industrial Uses 2) Chickpea and Cowpea: Nutritional Profile, Processing, Health Prospects, and Commercial Uses 3) Nanotechnology in the Food Industry: Applications, Recent Trends, and Future Perspectives 4) Colored Cereals: Properties, Processing, Health Benefits, and Industrial Uses 5) Compendium of Clove: Navigating Agriculture, Chemistry, Processing, and Health Benefits 6) Liquorice Properties, Processing, and Health Benefits 7) Recent Advances in Citrus Fruits 8) Rye: Processing, Nutritional Profile and Commercial Uses 9) Edible Insects: Handling Methods, Nutritional Value, and Commercial Uses 10) Agri-Nanotechnology: Innovations for Sustainable Agriculture and Environmental Restoration. Dr. Purewal also serves as an Associate Editor for the highly reputed Journal of Food Measurement and Characterization of Springer. In 2025, his outstanding contributions to antioxidant research have earned him a place among the top 0.5% of researchers worldwide in this field, as reported by ScholarGPS.Marcelo Franco Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Currently, he serves as a full professor at the State University of Santa Cruz (UESC), focusing on the research of agro-industrial by-product reuse and the production of high-value-added compounds. Dr. Marcelo Franco actively participates in postgraduate programs in Chemistry (UESC), Food Engineering and Science (UESB), and the Northeast Biotechnology Network (UFBA). He is the Vice-Coordinator of the Innovation and Technological Nucleus at UESC (2024-2026) and a member of the Evaluation and Assessment Chamber of FAPESB (2024-2026). Dr. Marcelo Franco collaborates with international researchers from various countries and leads the Research Group on Biotransformation and Organic Biocatalysis at UESC. His academic output includes patents, over 100 scientific articles, and book chapters, reflecting an H-index of 28 (Scopus), 26 (Web of Science), and 31 (Google Scholar - i10 = 75).Muhammad Irfan, Ph.D., is working as Chairman in the Department of Biotechnology, University of Sargodha Pakistan. He received his doctorate degree from Shenyang Agricultural University P.R. China. Previously, He served as researcher at Food & Biotechnology Research Center, PCSIR laboratories complex, ferozpure road Lahore Pakistan. He is an editorial/advisory board member of various international reputed journals. He has published more than 230 publications in national and international reputable journals with citations of more than 3700, H-index of 30 and i-10 index of 92. He has supervised more than 40 M.Phil scholars and 3 PhDs and 3 candidates under supervision. Dr. Muhammad Irfan’s current research focuses on microbial enzymes from fermentation, bioactive compound production, lignocellulose biotechnology, Biofuels, single cell protein production and genomics (molecular markers in genetic diversity analysis, QTL mapping in plants). Dr. Ashutosh Kumar Rai has been serving as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University (IAU), Dammam, Saudi Arabia, since 2017. In this role, he contributes extensively to teaching, research, laboratory supervision, and academic administration. Dr. Rai earned his Ph.D. in Applied Biochemistry in 2012 from the School of Biotechnology, Banaras Hindu University (BHU), India, with a specialization in microbial biotechnology and molecular biology. His doctoral research focused on cyanotoxins (microcystins) and plant growth-promoting bacteria. He holds a Master of Science degree in Applied Biochemistry from the Department of Biochemistry, VBS Purvanchal University, India, and a Bachelor of Science degree in the life sciences. Following his Ph.D., Dr. Rai worked at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi, on a project aimed at enhancing biofuel production in algae using genetic engineering strategies. He later contributed to a metaproteomics-based research project at the National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Microorganisms (NBAIM-ICAR). Dr. Rai also served at the School of Biotechnology, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, as an SERB-DST Young Scientist and Principal Investigator, where he led a project centered on host-pathogen interactions. With a cumulative 17 years of academic and research experience including over 11 years post-Ph.D. Dr. Rai has gained expertise across a wide range of biochemical, molecular biology, and biotechnology techniques. He has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed research articles and book chapters published in reputable international journals and scientific volumes. His current research interests include microbial biotechnology, molecular biology and proteomics, biomass and biofuel production, and environmental microbiology. In addition to his research activities, Dr. Rai serves as an editorial board member and peer reviewer for multiple international scientific journals.
